Building a Nimiq-5

Hi all,  I have just a small update for now:
Been a bit busy with shooting stuff for our next documentary the last couple of days. Long haul efforts it were, driving down to Amsterdam and back again two times and besides realising the biggest part of the job again consists of waiting. All went well and even better than expected. We came home with really great material.

As far as paper modeling, there was not much time for that the past week. However, I started work on designing a Loral SSL-1300 bus, the satellite type I want to have as a payload for my Proton-M. There is no model so I have to do one myself. Now I could have kept it simple and just put some stuff together to make a folded-up Nimiq-5 and leave it there. But while I started the design in Photoshop, I decided it might be fun to make it more of a full model, complete with extended solar panels. The step was even smaller to try and make it even more variable, to also be able to make it into other versions of LSS 1300 series satellites. So that is what I am up to at the moment.

A screenshot of a little part of the satellite bus. More to come!

Proton-M 1/96 bare metal edition [7]

First: thank you all for my now 10.000+ views! I am very honoured and happy with all your visits. Please leave a comment now and then, if you like. Would mean a lot to me. 

And now over to the business of the day.
Briz has been finished today. The chemo-fuelled upper stage is a small and quite easy one to make, however, the torus fuel tank parts on the top and bottom half need some attention when you build them.

After further detailing the lower torus with some aluminium tape strips, I made the central part of the stage. The outer ring shaped part of Briz is an external tank which can be jettisoned. The actual Briz stage is inside the ring. This ring shape was made by cutting out some cardboard rings in which the central doughnut-like opening is created. The hull goes around these rings. To get them snugly fitting I used some paper thickening inside the hull piece so it was tightly around the cardboard rings.
Also, the outside was detailed by carefully carving the textured lining.

more after the jump.

Proton-M 1/96 bare metal edition [6]

Back where we left off before last post, it now was the third stage that was in line for assembly.
First made were the tank dome and the engine section. The first and second stage have gimballed engines, they can swivel and by doing so steer the rocket in its trip up to space. The third stage does that by using a vernier engine. A small amount of the fuel is used for an engine with four small nozzles located around the central engine. You can see the base parts f those engines on the photo below. The seams of the tank dome were covered with bare metal foil.

I did some embossing on the lines at the engine section to make it stand out a bit more.
More after the jump.

Proton-M 1/96 bare metal edition [5]

I suddenly realised there was something wrong with the second stage. I had forgotten the part of the 2nd interstage with the flags on it was white and I also really wanted to do something more with the blast holes in the top of the stage. So what else was there to do than just take the whole stage apart?

Rip 'er to shreds!

 How I went ahead and what happened, after the jump.

Proton-M 1/96 bare metal edition [4]

Stage one is finished. Not here in the pictures, but trust me on that one. Tomorrow there'll be some pictures to prove, now it's too dark for any good photo.

All six fuel tanks added.

More after the jump.

Proton-M 1/96 bare metal edition [3]

Although it looks like not that much, I actually did all of the fuel tanks, made the nose cones and the cable run on their sides. The first three tanks now are in place. It looks quite the part, I must say. The colour is bang on.

The cable runs on the fuel tanks are rolled with a knitting needle.

Proton-M 1/96 bare metal edition [2]

With my new pair of glasses it has been somewhat of an eye opener again. Much more detail to be seen and more detailed cutting. Nice. Only thing is I really have to get used to this, moving my head around is like being drunk. All the world's moving and distorted. Oh well, it's for reading anyway.

So what did I do? Just some small progress. I did both the fuel tank domes, petaled parts I had to curve and edge glue with some CA. I then took small strips of light aluminium coloured paper to camouflage the seams and look like a kind of weld line of some sort. It looks quite all right, I think. Maybe it might not look like the original but it just looks good.

Proton-M 1/96 bare metal edition [1]

So after the research on the Proton it's build time again.
I used Leo Cherkashyn's excellent model of the Proton-M as a starting point. I had to rearrange some of the parts to other sheets and copy/paste parts to make the most economical use of the aluminium coloured sheets of paper I wanted to use. (still I forgot some parts so I have to do yet another sheet...)

Yes, I already started. All the aluminium coloured sheets are treated with a coating of Digital Ground for better printing. This stuff is ideal for otherwise unprintable paper sheets.

So here's part one of the building process. More after the jump, as usual.

I should have known!

It was the most simple and practical answer. Why are some Proton rockets bare metal and some not? Does it have to do with the type? No. Of course not.
I am preparing for some future model builds and I really wanted to add a bare metal Proton to my rocket garden. They look awesome, I think. Now a lot of Protons (the K and M versions alike) are painted white. Big red fat lettering along the body spelling the cyrillic "Прото́н" with either a M or nothing under it. (never seen a "K", anyway):

A Proton K launching Zarya, the first Russian component of the ISS back in 1998. 
The orange colour of the clouds is because of the very poisonous and corrosive fuels the Proton uses.
Note the American flag on the second stage - Zarya was co-financed by the US.
(photo: NASA)

But...